Cable connector



April 17, 1956 c. H- STEVENS, JR 2,742,622

CABLE CONNECTOR Filed April 2, 1953 Fly,

56 52 48 Fig 3 26 5 4 32 32 23 I8 20 Fig. 5. 4682 84 20 74 INVENTOR Char/es H. Sfe vens J1:

ATTORNEYS 713,742,622, CABLE CONNECTOR Charles H. Stevens, ill'i, CornwalLBridge, Conn., assignor; by mesne assignments, tofWhitney Blake Company, 1 'NeW'Haven, Co'mi., a COIPOl'iifiOltOf'COllIlQCfiCllt application April 2, 1953;, Serial No. 346,504 8' Claims. crass-60 The presentinventionrelates to improvements in cable connectors. i f

. n object of :the presentlinvention is to provide a new cable connector construction embodying electrically nonconductive sleeves molded about the actual cable connectors which non-conductive sleeves are in the form of male and female elementsso as to have overlapping portions. which when the coupling is. being effected, provides an initial seal which protects the atmosphere, which mightbe explosive in nature in some circumstances, from coupling, elements.

exposureto anyar'cing which might occur-between the- 1 Another object of thejpresent. inventionis to provide an improvedarrangement wherein the noneconductive.

all.

.-'-In:- drawings: f

Fig.-1 is a perspectiveview'of the separated male female cable connectors; i i i Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section liview through a first form. of cable connector showing fthecoupling elements;

' Z inserted one into'the otherready for 'relative'rotation for completion of thepcoupling; i

. Fig 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional-view through thesame embodiment but wherein the; coupling elements havebeen rotated relative to one another'to complete thecoupling action, one flat unthreaded side-face of the male member being in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through Fig.3,

along the plane of line 44, showing the cooperation between the coupling elements;

. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a modified coupling connection showing the lip formation of the female element; and

' I Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view, part broken away showing the lip on the female element of Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to. the drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, it will be seen that the cable connector 10 of thepresent invention is comprised of male and female sections 1 2 and 14 respec'tively.; The male section 12 includes the cable-16;

r male electrical coupling element 18, and electrically nonsleeves-fa're'of preselectedffornilandare insuclr a relation.-

ship to' the electrical coupling elements that when. the

coupling is eifectedthe female memberhasan end surface which is abutt'ed againsta cooperative shoulder on the male element to. provide ,atight seal;

Various other objectsand advantages willi become app'arent from they detailed description to follow.. The best forms in which I have contemplate d applying myv invention-include,the provision of male and female electrical.

coupling elements which can beofaconventiOnalform such as shown in the accompanying. drawings. .The elec trical coupling elements are electricallyc0nnected to their respective'cables and the female coupling element is provided with a' recess, opposite wall portions ofwhich are threaded while the remaining wall portions arerof a diameter'equal to the outside diameter of the threaded wall portions. -The male coupling element has opposed wall portions threaded to correspond with the female threaded. wall portions while the remaining opposing wall portions of. the male coupling element are sufliciently closely spaced as. to permit insertion of the male element into the female element without threading-or rotary movement, coupling the end of the inserting movement. The foregoing means are embedded in molded male and female elements which being completed by the threading or rotary movement at;

are of sleeve-like form.' The maleelernent has a reduced diameterend portion provided with a pair of beveled surfaces outwardly of a shoulder and'merg'ing at a ridge. The

end portion of the male element extends outwardly of the male coupling element carried thereby. The female element has an enlarged recess formation therein, the inner end ofwhich is an annular shoulder, the longitudinal wall the're'cess being compriseiifofa pair of beveled surfaces mg at'a valley, The ehdof the female member pre-,

sentsl anannular plananface constituting a shoulder adapted to abut the shoulder'of themale element. The

female element in one embodiment isformed with an inwardly extending lip or annulus at the mouth of the recess therein adapted to tightly and sealingly encircle the male element adjacent the shoulder; The configuration of the recess substantially corresponds with that of the reduced diameter end portion so that the two elements can be cooperatively interengaged inla resiliently tight sealing relationship.

conductive male element 20 of molded sleeve-like; form.

,The female section 14 includes its cable 22, electrical fe- I male coupling element 24 and electrically non-conductive female element 26 of molded sleeve-like form;

The male-electrical couplihgelement-18 is formed of; any suitable electrically conductivegmetal and includes a cylindrical portion 2.8, and a reduced diameter-portion" at 30. The latter portionis cut away'at 32 and 34 to provide an extension having'flat faces 36 and 38 joined:

by cylindrical threaded faces 40 and 42. The cylindrical portionl has the cable. 16'connected thereto as at 44.- The whole assembly ofmale coupling element and'cable':

is embedded in the molded electrically non-conductive male element 20 which may be made Ofrubber, poly-.

ethylene or other suitable insulative plastic.

The male element 20 has a reduced diameter end portion 46 extending from the shoulder 48 and terminating in the flat annular surface at 50. The exterior wall of; the portion 46 is comprised of a pair of beveled surfaces.

52 and 54 merging at the ridge 56. The male coupling element 18 as seen best in Fig. 1, includes a cylindrical wall portion 58 which encircles the extension 30 but the end face 50 of the male element is outwardly of the entire coupling element 18.

The female coupling element 24 includes a cylindrical portion 60. and a slightly reduced diameter portion 62 having a recess therein, best shown in Figs. 1 and 4, which is of generally cylindrical shape having smooth opposed wall portions 64 and 66 and opposed threaded wall portions 68 and 70, the diameter at the smooth wall portionbeing equal to the outsidediameter at the threaded wall portion, and the width of the non-threaded portion being atleast equal tothe width of the male extension as defined by the fiat wall portions 36 and 38. The assembly offemale coupling element and cable is embedded in the electrically non-conductive female element 26 which is of molded sleeve like formv and of material like that of the male element. with a recess 72 extending from the end shoulder 74 to the inner shoulder 76 and having its wall comprised of a pair of beveled surfaces 78 and-80 merging at the valley 82. The overall configuration of the recess sub-- stantially conforms with the exterior configuration of.

themale element and the space between the shoulder 74 and valley 82 of the female element is substantially;

equal to the space between the ridge 56 and shoulder 48 The female element 26 is formed so that the two elements can be closely cooperatively associated.

Having reference now to Figs. 5 and 6, it will be seen that the difference exists in the provision of the annular lip 84 at the mouth of the female element 26. 'The lip 84 is adapied to tightly sealingly engage over the male element adjacent the shoulder 48.

In effecting coupling with either of the above described modifications, the male element is inserted into the female element, is by relative longitudinal movement to the dotted line position of Fig. 4 and is then given a quarter turn to the full line position of Fig. 4. The beveled surfaces will now be intimately contacted and the non-conductive sleeve-like portions will have been overlapped so as to prevent exposed arcing at the time the coupling elements are close enough to are. Next, the male element with the male coupling element therein is rotated to the full line positions of Figures 3 and 4 so that the threaded surfaces coact to give a slight relative longitudinal movement of the male and female elements whereby the abutting shoulders 48 and 74 are more tightly associated to complete the protected coupling.

As this inventionmay be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents, are therefore intended to be embraced by those claims.

I claim:

1. A cable connector comprising male and female elements of molded, electrically non-conductive material having electrical conductors embedded therein, said elements having electrically conductive coupling elements disposed in recesses in their terminal portions and connected with the conductors of the respective elements, said male element having a shoulder and a reduced diameter end portion comprised of two beveled exterior surface portions merging at a ridge spaced from said shoulder, the end portion of said female member having a shoulder and an enlarged diameter recess therein defined by a pair of beveled surface portions merging at a valley, said reduced diameter end portion of the male member being adapted to cooperate with said enlarged diameter recess in the female member to provide a seal impervious to moisture and preventing arcing.

2. A cable connector comprising male and female elements of molded, electrically non-conductive material having electrical conductors embedded therein, said elements having electrically conductive coupling elements disposed in recesses in their terminal portions and connected with the conductors of the respective elements, said male element having a shoulder and a reduced diameter end portion comprised of two beveled exterior surface portions merging at a ridge spaced from said shoulder, the end portion of said female member having a shoulder and an enlarged diameter recess therein defined by a pair of beveled surface portions merging at a valley, one of said elements having an annular lip formed at the end portion thereof and adapted to be cooperatively engaged against the other of said elements, said reduced diameter end portion of the male member being adapted to cooperate with said enlarged diameter recess in the female member to provide a seal impervious tomoisture and preventing arcing.

3. A cable connector comprising male and female elements of molded, electrically non-conductive material having electrical conductors embedded therein, said elements having electrically conductive coupling elements disposed in recesses in their terminal portions and connected with the conductors of the respective elements, said male element having a shoulder and a reduced diameter end portion comprised of two beveled exterior surface portions merging at a ridge spaced from said shoulder, the end portion of said female member having a shoulder and an enlarged diameter recess therein defined by a pair of beveled surface portions merging at a valley, said female element having an inwardly extending annular lip on the wall of the recess in the end portion thereof, the end portion of said female element positioned over the reduced diameter end portion of the male element in tight engagement therewith, with the shoulders of the female and male elements in abutting relationship, and the inwardly extending annular lip tightly engaging the male element adjacent its shoulder to provide a seal impervious to moisture and preventing arcing.

4. A cable connector comprising male and female elements of molded, electrically non-conductive material having electrical conductors embedded therein, said elements having electrically conductive coupling elements disposed in recesses in their terminal portions and connected with the conductors of the respective elements, said male element having a shoulder and a reduced diameter end portion comprised of two beveled exterior surface portions merging at a ridge spaced from said shoulder, the end portion of said female member having a shoulder and an enlarged diameter recess therein defined by a pair of beveled surface portions merging at a valley, said reduced diameter end portion of the male member being adapted to cooperate with said enlarged diameter recess in the female member to provide a seal impervious to moisture and preventing arcing, the distance between the end of the female element and said valley being approximately equal to the distance between the shoulder and ridge on the reduced diameter end portion of the male element.

' 5. A cable connector comprising male and female elements of molded, electrically non-conductive material having electrical conductors embedded therein, said elements having electrically conductive coupling elements disposed in recesses in their terminal portions and connected with the conductors of the respective elements, said coupling elements being of the type that provides for initial relative longitudinal movement and subsequent relatively rotary movement of the coupling elements to effect coupling thereof, said male element having a shouldcr and a reduced diameter end portion comprised of two beveled exterior surface portions merging at a ridge evenly spaced from said shoulder, the end portion of said female member having a shoulder and an enlarged diameter recess therein defined by a pair of beveled surface portions merging at a valley spaced evenly from the end of said female element, the spacings referred to on the male and female elements being approximately equal, said reduced diameter end portion of the male member being cooperatively engageable with the enlarged recess of the female member by relative longitudinal movement of said coupling elements and rotary movement of said coupling elements effecting tight contact between the male and female elements.

6. A cable connector in accordance with claim 5 wherein said female element is formed with an inwardly extending lip at'the mouth of the recess therein adapted go tightly encircle the male element adjacent its shoul- 7. A cable connector comprising male and female elements of molded, electrically non-conductive material having electrical conductors embedded therein, said elements having electrically conductive coupling elements disposed in recesses in their terminal portions and connected with the conductors of the respective elements, said coupling elements being of the type that provides for initial relative longitudinal movement and subsequent relative rotary movement of the coupling elements to effect coupling thereof, said male element having a shoulder and a reduced diameter end portion comprised of two beveled exterior surface portions merging at a, ridge evenly spaced from said shoulder, the end portion of said female member having a shoulder and an enlarged diameter recess therein defined by a pair of beveled surface portions merging at a valley spaced evenly from the end of said female element, the spacings referred to on the male and female elements being approximately equal, said reduced diameter end portion of the male member being cooperatively engageable with the enlarged recess of the female member by relative longitudinal movement of said coupling elements and rotary movement of said coupling elements effecting tight contact between the male and female elements, said coupling elements having cooperating thread portions, the male coupling ele-.

ment having a straight cylindrical axial chamber therein with the threaded portion of the male coupling element forming a reduced axial extension of said element from the bottom of said chamber, said reduced extension carrying interrupted screw threads and encircled by the 7 wall of the cylindrical chamber, the threaded portion of the female coupling element forming a slightly reduced diameter extension of a cylindrical portion and having an axial recess therein and adapted to enter and snugly fit in said chamber, with the recess having smooth opposed wall portions and opposed threaded portions, said female coupling element being positioned centrally of I the enlarged diameter recess and radially spaced therefrom, and when said cooperating threaded portions are engaged relative rotary'movement thereof efiects a relative longitudinal movement of the coupling elements whereby the shoulder of the female element is urged against the shoulder of the male element in abutting relationship effecting a tight contact therebetween.

8. A cable connector in accordance with claim 7 wherein said female element is formed with an inwardly ex:

tending lip at the mouth of the recess therein adapted to tightly encircle'the male element adjacent its shoulder.

References Cited in the'file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

